This Isn't A Girl Scout Camp
by Lauren Kassidy
Summary: Camp Green Lake is now open for girls, and Michaela is just one of those girls. She is guilty of the crimes committed, but just wants to complete her sentence and find a way to move forward with her future. Will a certain D Tent camper help her with that? Can she, too, relieve him of his own personal demons from the past? Full summary on my profile page. BEING RE-WRITTEN.
1. Chapter One

This Isn't a Girl Scout Camp

* * *

Chapter One

Michaela Varden and Rebecca Jones were the only passengers on the bus, not counting the driver or the guard. The guard sat next to the driver with his seat turned around facing them. A rifle lay across his lap.

Michaela was sitting about ten rows back, handcuffed to her armrest, with the other girl sitting directly opposite. Her backpack lay on the seat next to her. It contained her toothbrush, toothpaste, some clothes and underwear, shampoo & conditioner, a hairbrush, hair bands, light makeup, contact lenses, deodorant, sun cream and her pills. She didn't bother packing a box of stationary. She doesn't have anybody to write to.

She looked out of the window, although there wasn't much to see—mostly fields of hay and cotton. They were on a long bus ride to nowhere. The bus wasn't air-conditioned, and the hot, heavy air was almost as stifling as the handcuffs. Michaela decided to talk to her unknown companion.

"Hey," she said to her, smiling unsurely.

"Hey," replied the girl, smiling back. Her smile was kind, though, but her eyes were guarded.

"I'm Michaela," Michaela told her.

The girl nodded. "I'm Becky. What'd they get you for?"

"Breaking into people's houses, stealing, and bunking school. You?"

"Drug dealing," she sighed.

Michaela's eyes widened. "For real?"

"It was only the once, I swear," Becky told her. "I needed the money to pay for my mom's hospital bills. She's got MS and she had a, err, bad turn recently." She sighed sadly.

Michaela's jaw dropped. "Oh wow, I'm so sorry—"

"But I've had other minor offences like stealing food and such, so it all added up to this punishment I guess," Becky said, matter-of-factly. "Have you got any family?"

"Only my mom," Michaela said quietly. "But she's got a problem with alcohol. My dad left us when I was little."

Becky nodded and didn't press it. "So are ya gonna miss your friends?"

Michaela shrugged. "I don't really have any _real_ friends. Just those people I get into trouble with. I doubt they care. What about you?"

"Yeah—I've got one who I'll miss a lot. Johnny. We've been best friends since before I can remember."

"Aw," Michaela smiled. Becky shrugged and they both laughed a little. "You're not a bad kid, are ya Becky?"

She shook her head. "Neither are you. Bad things have just happened to you."

Michaela shrugged.

"Was it scary when you were arrested?" Becky asked her.

Michaela shook her head. "I'm used to it now," she chuckled. "I don't know why I do this to myself. When I've done my time, I'm gonna turn my life around. I think actually getting convicted has finally got it into my head that I've really screwed up."

Becky smiled. "Good for you."

"Thanks."

Michaela looked at the guard, wondering if he was interested in their conversation. He was slumped in his seat, making Michaela wonder if he had fallen asleep. The guard was wearing sunglasses, so they couldn't see his eyes. The bus hit a small bump and the guard sat up, instantly alert.

"What do you reckon it'll be like? Camp Green Lake?" Michaela wondered, looking out of the window at the vast emptiness. She watched the rise and fall of a telephone wire.

"Who knows," Becky answered. "Hopefully there'll be a massive lake with lush greenery, though if outside is anything to go by right now I can't see it."

"What did the court tell you about this place?" Michaela asked her.

"That it used to be an all boy's camp," Becky replied. "But they've had a few girls try it out and adjust okay. I don't know what that means, though."

"Yeah, nor me."

"So have you got any brothers or sisters at home?" Becky asked her.

"No. It's just me," Michaela replied. "Have you?"

Becky's face lit up. "Yeah, I've got a little brother, Tommy. He's being looked after by strangers because I'm not there anymore." Her face fell. She stayed quiet after that.

The bus ride became increasingly bumpy because the road was no longer paved. Soon though, the bus was slowing down. The guard grunted as she stretched his arms.

"Welcome to Camp Green Lake," said the driver. Michaela and Becky looked at each other in confusion, and disappointment. Michaela once again looked out of the dirty window. She couldn't see a lake. And hardly anything was green.

Michaela felt somewhat dazed as the guard unlocked her handcuffs and led her off the bus. They'd been on the bus for a very long time. She stepped onto the hard, dry dirt. There was a band of sweat around her wrist where the handcuff had been. Becky stepped down next to her a few seconds later.

The land was barren and desolate. Nobody was around. Michaela could see a few run-down buildings and some tents. Farther away there was a cabin beneath two tall trees. Those two trees were the only plant life she could see. There weren't even weeds.

The guard led Michaela and Becky to a small building. A sign on front said, _YOU ARE ENTERING CAMP GREEN LAKE JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY._ Next to it was another sign which declared that it was a violation of the Texas Penal Code to bring guns, explosives, weapons, drugs, or alcohol onto the premises.

Michaela swerved her head to the sign and muttered, "_Duh_," to Becky, who laughed quietly.

The guard led them into the building, where they felt the relief of air-conditioning. A man was sitting with his feet up on a desk. He turned his head when they entered, but otherwise didn't move. Even though he was inside, he wore sunglasses and a cowboy hat. He also held a can of soda, which made Michaela more aware of her thirst. The bus guard gave the man some papers to sign.

"That's a lot of sunflower seeds," said the guard.

Michaela then noticed a burlap sack of sunflower seeds on the floor next to the desk.

"I quit smoking last month," said the man in the cowboy hat. He had a tattoo of a rattlesnake on his arm, and as he signed his name, the snake's rattle seemed to wiggle. "I used to smoke a pack a day. Now I eat a sack of these every week."

The guard laughed.

There must have been a small refrigerator behind his desk, because the man in the cowboy hat produced two more cans of soda. For a second, Michaela hoped they might be for her and Becky. But, the man said one was for the guard and the other for the driver.

"7 hours here and now 7 hours back," the guard grumbled. "What a day."

Michaela thought about the long, miserable journey here and felt a little sorry for the guard and driver.

The man in the cowboy hat spit sunflower seed shells into a wastepaper basket. Then, he walked around the desk to Michaela and Becky. "My name is Mr. Sir," he said. "Whenever you speak to me you must call me by my name, is that clear?"

"Uh, yes, Mr. Sir," Michaela said, as Becky nodded – though they couldn't imagine that was really the man's name.

"You're not in the Girl Scouts anymore," Mr. Sir said.

Michaela and Becky were led into a little room that led off from the office, and it stored various items of clothing.

"Undress," he muttered to them. "And put this on—" He gave them two sets of clothes and a towel. "We had ladies sizes bought in. I'll wait in my office."

Michaela and Becky looked at the sets of clothing. The set consisted of a long-sleeve orange jumpsuit, an orange cap (which had a piece of cloth sewn on the back of it, for neck protection), an orange T-shirt, a towel, white sneakers and a canteen made of heavy plastic, which unfortunately was empty. Michaela took her boots and trousers off, and slipped the jumpsuit on and up over her T-shirt. Michaela put her own boots back on, and put her trousers in her rucksack. She took out her own cap and put it on.

Mr. Sir came back in after they had dressed and inspected Michaela. He saw she had good boots on and had her own clothes, and so put the other items away. Michaela was glad she would not be wearing them, but this jumpsuit was still horrible. And a nuisance. It smelled of soap.

He told them that they should wear one set to work in and one set for relaxation. Laundry was done every three days. On that day their work clothes would be washed. Then the other set would become their work clothes, and they would get clean clothes to wear while resting.

"You are to dig one hole each day, including Saturdays and Sundays."

Michaela's jaw dropped. "I'm sorry – but all we're doing here is _digging holes_?"

Mr. Sir nodded. "And you'll have some touchy-feely counselling sessions, too. Anyway each hole must be five feet deep, and five feet across in every direction. Your shovel is your measuring stick. Breakfast is served at 4:30."

Michaela and Becky looked surprised and a little horrified. Mr. Sir explained that they started early to avoid the hottest part of the day. "No-one is going to baby-sit you," he added. "The longer it takes you to dig, the longer you will be out in the sun. If you dig up anything interesting, you are to report it to me or any other counsellor. When you finish, the rest of the day is yours."

They nodded to show they understood.

"This isn't a Girl Scout camp," said Mr. Sir.

He checked their backpacks and allowed them to keep it. Then he led them out into the blazing heat.

"Take a good look around you," Mr. Sir said. "What do you see?"

Michaela looked out across the vast wasteland. The air seemed thick with heat and dirt. Becky folded her arms and shrugged.

"Not much," Michaela said, and then hastily added, "Mr. Sir."

Mr. Sir laughed. "You see any guard towers?"

"No," they both said.

"How about an electric fence?"

"No, Mr. Sir," they said again, tiredly.

"There's no fence at all, is there?"

"_No, there is not_, Mr. Sir," Michaela was getting annoyed at the repetition now.

"You want to run away?" Mr. Sir asked the two girls.

They looked back at him, unsure what he meant.

"If you want to run away, go ahead, start running, I'm not going to stop you." Michaela didn't know what kind of game Mr. Sir was playing. He seemed to follow Becky's eyes, who were staring at his belt.

"I see you're looking at my gun. Don't worry. I'm not going to shoot you." He tapped his holster. "This is for yellow-spotted lizards. I wouldn't waste a bullet on you."

"We're not going to run away," Becky mumbled, converting her eyes back to Mr. Sir.

"Good thinking, Jones," said Mr. Sir. "Nobody runs away from here. We don't need a fence. Know why? Because we've got the only water for a hundred miles. You want to run away? You'll be buzzard food in three days."

They could see some boys dressed in orange and carrying shovels dragging themselves toward the tents. Some looked at the two girls, grinned, looked at each other and proceeded to mutter excitedly.

"You thirsty?" asked Mr. Sir.

They both nodded, maybe a little too eagerly.

"Well, you better get used to it. You're going to be thirsty for the next eighteen months."

Michaela and Becky shared a look of alarm. That and a sense of anxiety with the boys entering the compound, filthy, sweaty but also eying them up with great interest.

"I wonder where the other girls are?" Michaela muttered to Becky.

Mr. Sir returned to his office. The girls found out that they were assigned to D Tent, as there were two girls each with A, B and C Tent, and their counsellor was Mr. Pendanski. There were seven large tents, and each one had a black letter on it: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. The first six tents were for the campers, with F being the girls' tent and G being for the counsellors. The girls were to shower behind the Warden's cabin, where some outdoor shower cubicles were apparently situated.

"My name is easy to remember," said Mr Pendanski as he shook hands with Michaela and Becky. "Three easy words: pen, dance, key."

Mr Pendanski was younger than Mr. Sir, and not nearly as scary looking. The top of his head was shaved so close it was almost bald. His nose was badly sunburned. He wore long socks with sandals.

"Mr. Sir isn't really so bad," said Mr Pendanski. "He's just been in a bad mood ever since he quit smoking. The person you've got to worry about is the Warden. There's really only one rule at Camp Green Lake: Don't upset the Warden."

They nodded to show they understood.

"I want you to know, girls, that I respect you," Mr Pendanski said. "I understand that you've made some bad mistakes in your life. Otherwise you wouldn't be here. But everyone makes mistakes. You may have done some bad things, but that doesn't mean you're bad kids."

Michaela nodded. It seemed pointless to try and tell her counsellor that she's done what she's done because of her mom. And she would bet that Becky is thinking the same thing about her crimes, too. It was to help her sick mother.

"I'm going to help you turn your life around," said their counsellor. "But you're going to have to help, too. Can I count on your help?"

"Yes!" they both exclaimed at once.

"Oh, good!" Mr Pendanski said and patted them on the back. Maybe he hadn't received such a positive reaction from criminals before.

Two boys, each carrying a shovel, were now coming across the compound.

"Rex! Alan! I want you to come and say hello to Michaela and Becky, the newest members of our team."

* * *

Author's Note:

Wow. The response to this story has been incredible. Thank you so much! :) So I am very pleased to announce that I am officially back, re-writing my old stories! I am older now and my writing style has inevitably changed a lot so I am re-booting my stories.

So let me know what you think, old and new readers! I love you all, so much, seriously. Your gracious reception of this story always meant the absolute world to me, and it still does. I will re-write and carry on till the end this time! Nothing will get in my way now :)


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

They looked at the two girls in shock and then recovered, smiling to each other. One boy was white, and the other black. They were so dirty, Michaela didn't even realise this until they had gotten closer.

"This is Rex," Mr Pendanski said, pointing at the black kid, who had glasses, though there was no way he could see out of them. "And this is Alan."

"Hey, I'm X-Ray," Rex said, smiling and shaking their hands. "And this is Squid."

Becky shook his hand cautiously. "X-Ray? Squid?"

"That's right," X-Ray nodded, "It ain't just a nickname, ya know."

Squid held his hand out for Michaela, though she didn't really know what he actually looks like under that dirt. She took his hand.

"It's a pleasure," Squid said in a cute Southern twang.

"Likewise," she replied, smiling and dropping his tightening hand. They both turned to X-Ray and Becky, who were studying each other in interest. Michaela had a theory that they both found each other attractive, but couldn't figure out if that was a threat or not. This would definitely be a dilemma in the weeks to come.

"Right, erm, Squid, go and get the others from please, before you take a shower," Mr Pendanski said.

"You don't smell too pleasant," Becky retorted to X-Ray, who frowned. Michaela smiled at her friend in amusement, and Squid chuckled as he headed toward the Rec Room. He had a mellow, deep sounding laugh, Michaela noticed.

"Neither will you, come tomorrow," X-Ray hit back, folding his arms over his dirty orange jumpsuit.

Before Becky could retort their counsellor said, "Right, girls, go and drop your stuff off in F Tent. Get used to it, as it'll be your home for the next eighteen months."

X-Ray watched as they retreated to F Tent. Two very different girls. One was quieter than what you'd expect, as she obviously must have done something bad to get into Camp Green Lake. She had wavy brown hair and bright blue eyes. The other, Becky, had the same colour skin as X-Ray himself. To match, she had bushy brown hair tied up and sharp brown eyes. She seemed strong, but definitely hiding something. Hiding something that was causing her pain. He looked at Mom.

"So it's D Tent's turn to have girls join us now?"

"It sure is, Rex. And then E Tent will have two girls eventually. The Warden will assess how it's going, and take it from there."

X-Ray raised his eyebrows. "I have to admit, the other girls have handled this alright so far."

Mr Pendanski smiled. "I'm glad you think so Rex."

Squid then returned, followed by the other boys of D Tent.

Michaela threw her bag and canteen onto the cot, and looked around her new home. A tent which smelt kind of like horses. There were 2 cots, with sheets on the bottom and one on the top and two pillows. There were two crates by each cot. The open end of the crates faced outward.

"Eighteen months of _this_," Michaela sighed, undoing the top half of her jumpsuit, and tying it round her waist, so her under top was showing. It was too hot to have it all done up.

Becky yanked at her collar, which was sticking to her skin through sweat due to the stifling heat. "And we have to dig a hole everyday in _this._I mean, _why?_This should be training for a body builder or something, not a camp for bad kids."

"Amen to that."

"Michaela! Becky! Come and meet everyone," Mr Pendanski called from outside. Indeed, a line of boys awaited them. One of the boys said to Squid, "Wow, you weren't joking!" Michaela had no idea what he meant by that, but Squid kicked him to shut the boy up.

"Now, you already know Rex and Alan. Meet José, Theodore, Ricky, Lewis and Zero."

X-Ray sighed. "No, Mom. It's Magnet, Armpit, Zigzag and Barfbag."

Michaela looked at Becky, who was staring at them in disbelief.

"Of course, as you may have noticed, they have their own little nicknames but I prefer to use their real names. The names _society_will recognise them by," Mr Pendanski said sternly.

"What about Zero?" Michaela asked, pointing to the smallest of them.

"Nope, that's his name," Squid answered, before anyone else could. Michaela nodded, but still confused.

"We call him Zero because there's nothing going on in his stupid little head!" Mr Pendanski playfully shook his afro.

Michaela was shocked at his coldness towards Zero, wasn't he meant to be his counsellor?

"Isn't that nice, Michaela?" Becky said sarcastically.

"Oh, what, and _you_ are?" X-Ray hit back. "Yeah you must be real nice to have ended up here."

"I don't go judging people based on the fact they don't want to have conversations with morons," she almost shouted back. Michaela sighed.

Zero looked at her in surprise while everyone else stood around in an awkward silence.

Squid broke it, while Michaela clenched her hand around Becky's arm to calm her down. "And we call Pendanski Mom."

He chuckled. "You girls can also call me that if it makes you feel better."

Squid scoffed. Somebody farted.

Everyone turned their heads to one of the boys, Barfbag, who grinned goofily. Now Michaela understood his nickname. "Better here than in the tent, right?"

"Right, I am in need of a shower!" a dirty Armpit declared. Mr Pendanski chuckled as he himself headed to Mr. Sir's office.

"No shit," Squid muttered, causing a ripple of laughter. He seemed pleased to have made Michaela laugh.

"Nice meeting you girls," Armpit said happily, winking at Michaela and turning. Michaela smiled uncertainly after him.

The rest of the boys left too, shouting bye, very merrily, to the girls. One of the boys was Hispanic, Magnet, Michaela learnt as he shouted bye and waved with a cheeky grin on his face.

Squid lingered as X-Ray and Becky glared at each other.

"Erm...Becky?" Michaela asked timidly. "You wanna...go? Like, right now?"

"You go," she replied, "I got this."

Squid swerved his head, gesturing for Michaela to join him. X-Ray and Becky ignited their argument about petty things, the other eager to win. They seemed to really clash.

"After I've had a shower, I'll give you a proper tour of the place. If you want?"

Michaela nodded eagerly. "That'd be cool."

Squid smiled widely. "I won't be long." Pulling out a sort of token from his pocket, he moved away to the shower stalls. Michaela quickly turned away in amusement when realising that a lot of boys were actually showering now. The last thing she needed was a reputation for spying on the boys showering.

"—You're not gonna last five minutes out there!"

"Really? Who says? Read the future, can you?"

"_Science _says! Men are physically stronger than women, and we barely get through it!"

"Aah, but you're a boy, not a man—"

Michaela strolled past the argument, and entered her tent, picking up her empty canteen. She needed to drink before she passed out.

Returning to the heat, she sat on the steps to her tent, enjoying the shade, and finding entertainment in the form of Becky and X-Ray. She decided she'll wait for Squid here, too.

Soon, she was glad to see Squid strolling back over, clean from dust and dirt and sweat. Michaela was surprised at how good looking he was underneath. He had shapely black hair, dark eyebrows and soft dark eyes. Were delinquents meant to be this good-looking?

"Ready for the tour, then?" he asked, now chewing on a tooth pick or something similar.

"First though, could you go fill up this for me? I think I'm going to die," Michaela asked, holding up her canteen. She had spotted the water spigot; it was by the showers. Where the boys were showering.

Squid turned to look at the spigot, confused on why he had to do it _for_ her. Seeing the boys stripping in the shower, he understood and laughed slightly.

"Yeah course, though the boys will be disappointed," he grinned.

When he came back, Michaela stood with her hands on her face, trying to concentrate.

"Here..." Squid handed her the full canteen, watching as she swayed slightly. "Are you all right?"

She felt the coolness of the water trickle down her body, and sighed in relief. "Yeah, I'm much better. Thanks for that."

"Good. Right, let's go."

Michaela followed him into the building named 'Mess Hall'.

"This is the Mess Hall, where we have dinner every night—I'll warn you, it's not great."

Michaela giggled as the man with a long brown beard behind the counter looked very offended. But Squid was right—they were serving the food now, and Michaela looked at it nervously.

"It won't kill me, will it?" she asked Squid, in half amusement, half seriousness.

Squid just laughed in response.

"Come on, the next stop on the _big_ tour—our tent."

Back out into the heat, Squid stopped. "That's our tent over there—D Tent. If you ever want to, you know, hang out or whatever, then I'm sure they'll be more than happy to let you in. But, we mainly hang out in the Rec Room."

"Cool, that'd be nice."

"And you know Mr. Sir's office, the Warden's place, the holes—"

"Who is the Warden exactly?" Michaela asked, staring at a kid washing the mysterious person's car.

Squid, though, shrugged. "I dunno. Never seen him."

They entered the last building, which fell a little quieter as they entered. Michaela tried to remain cool and collected as all eyes fell on her, when inside she just wanted to run away.

Squid cleared his throat, and the boys went back to whatever they were doing, with big grins on their faces.

"Anyway, this is the Rec Room; it's kind of like a games room, where we relax after digging."

Michaela could certainly see why it was called the _Rec_ Room. Everything was broken: the furniture, skittles, pinball machine and the busted TV. Even half the chairs had stuffing coming out of it or a leg snapped off. But she welcomed the cheap air conditioning that was a fan in the corner.

"Hey, where are the other girls?" Michaela asked, seeing only boys.

"Probably in their tent," Squid replied. "They don't come in here very much."

"Oh," Michaela said, slightly disappointed. It was then she realised that she was _still_ being stared at. Some of them were even whispering, quite blatantly about her. "Er—well, I'm going to head back to my tent, then..."

He nodded. "I'm sorry about these guys...it's been a long time since some of them have seen an attractive girl—"

He stopped suddenly, realising what he had intended _not _to say, he ended up saying. Michaela broke out in a grin. "Thanks," she said, looking down and back up, "I'll catch you later, Squid."

Her cheeks turning slightly red, she turned and joined Becky in their tent.

"Are you alright Becky?" she asked.

"Fine," Becky said. But after a moment's pause she suddenly said, "But don't some people really just get under your skin? They annoy you so much that you just don't know why?"

Michaela suppressed a grin at her new friend who seemed completely oblivious to finding X-Ray attractive. Or she was trying to deny it. "So, the other girls haven't been in then?" She looked at the six other cots, with some personal possessions scattered about the place, showing signs of life.

"Nope."

An alarm sounded throughout the camp.

"What the hell is that for?" Becky asked, as they poked their heads out of the tent. A surge of boys were heading towards the Mess Hall.

"Dinner, I guess," Michaela shrugged, and joined them. As they were served their food, no, their _mush_, Michaela looked for a table that just the two of them could sit. She found one, in the corner of the room, away from everyone. It was where the other girls sat. _Finally. _The mystery girls do exist.

They sat down on the end of the table, as the group of six very tired-looking girls greeted them with a grunt. Dinner was a sort of stew and vegetables. The only thing decent was the piece of bread.

They met their fellow girl campers, who were so tired that they could barely get their words out. And Michaela and Becky could hardly blame them, after the day they had endured. Riley, a big-boned scary looking girl, and Bryony, a small, shy girl, were assigned to A Tent. Anna, the girly-girl, and Jade, the Emo, were counselling with B Tent and finally Natalie, who had a British accent, and her older sister by one year Nina were with C Tent.

All in all, a diverse bunch. Michaela was determined to try and get to know them tomorrow when they're hopefully less tired. They certainly didn't seem to be too bothered by Michaela and Becky's arrival.

After dinner, it was getting dark, and Michaela and Becky were very tired, so they followed their follow girls to F Tent, who were finally talking a little now that they'd had some food.

"Goodnight," sounded a voice behind Michaela as she was about to walk up the steps to her tent. She turned to see Squid.

"Night Squid," she said, watching as his outline moved forward.

"I'll be helping you tomorrow," he said, as the din of boys voices got quieter around camp. "I've been assigned as your mentor. X-Ray is Becky's, but that's gotta' be Mom's idea as a joke."

Michaela laughed. "Cool, thanks. I'll see you tomorrow." She watched as Squid moved away towards his own tent. With a feeling of excitement for tomorrow, and also anticipation of the day ahead, Michaela smiled as she got into her cot and fell asleep against the scratchy and smelly pillow.


End file.
